hay ice lolly...

[0ldmare]

Just been out to give old mare her morning haynet which has been soaking over night and its more like a hay ice lolly! Uuugh, ended up tipping buckets of warm water over it to try to make it edible, but she still gave me an old fashioned look. Time to order in some horsehage me thinks

(PS, yes yes I know its a haynet which is the devils spawn and all that...)

Roll on spring I say!

 

[smellsofhorse]

Bet she thought what the hell is that!

The joys of winter.

It was cold at the yard this morning!

Our tap was frozen and i had to stamp on the ice in the troughs in the field.
We have haylage though and its kept undercover.

 

[0ldmare]

Hideous isn't it!

I've got an hours grazing her in hand to look forward to once the frosts gone. Oh joy, I lool like Michelin Woman I've got so many clothes on

 

[Lotty]

My mare had a hay ice-lolly yesterday. I'm going to take some flasks of boiling water to pour over them today. I hate this grrrrr - I have to soak hers as she's prone to lami.

Anyone got any ideas on how to stop this?

 

[tallyho!]

Depend on how you soak...

I soak in a tubtrug water bucket (big one) and have another I pop on top to cover. I then drag it into the empty stable and pack it with straw all around.

 

[NOISYGIRL]

Just been out to give old mare her morning haynet which has been soaking over night and its more like a hay ice lolly! Uuugh, ended up tipping buckets of warm water over it to try to make it edible, but she still gave me an old fashioned look. Time to order in some horsehage me thinks

(PS, yes yes I know its a haynet which is the devils spawn and all that...)

Roll on spring I say!

Just wondering why your're going to the bother of soaking overnight presumably to get the goodness out to be soaking it that long, when you're going to feed horse hage/haylage which is totally oposite ?

 

[0ldmare]

I'm feeding soaked hay as she is just recovering from Cushings related Laminitis.

The Blue HorseHage, which is what I'm getting, is fine for laminitics. Its only got around 3% sugar which is lower than hay (my hay was tested at 10%, hence why I'm soaking it

 

[TheEquineOak]

Well, I'm about to head up to the yard.

I'm still wearing my pjs....and then on top of them I have every item of clothing I own.

We've got 8 inches of snow here

I think my horse would spit at me if I gave him a 'hay ice-lolly'

 

[0ldmare]

Well, I'm about to head up to the yard.

I'm still wearing my pjs....and then on top of them I have every item of clothing I own.

We've got 8 inches of snow here

I think my horse would spit at me if I gave him a 'hay ice-lolly'

Yep, my poor old girl is sulking at the far end of the school - furthest point from the haynet. She's not amused

 

[Lotty]

Depend on how you soak...

I soak in a tubtrug water bucket (big one) and have another I pop on top to cover. I then drag it into the empty stable and pack it with straw all around.

Thats a good way Unfortunately we don't have an empty stable and I have to stay right beside the hose for water and draining. I have 2 tubtrugs as I soak 2 nets at a time, I might buy one of those water butts to keep them in.

 

[Lotty]

I'm feeding soaked hay as she is just recovering from Cushings related Laminitis.

The Blue HorseHage, which is what I'm getting, is fine for laminitics. Its only got around 3% sugar which is lower than hay (my hay was tested at 10%, hence why I'm soaking it

That's interesting, didn't know it was as low as that, how much is it? The thing is my livery includes hay & straw and I'm already buying shavings, it propbably would be silly if I started buying hay too.

I'll let you know what the net is like after a flask of water.

 

[touchstone]

I've just switched to Silvermoor recreation haylage instead of soaked hay; mainly because I've had thieves in the hay shed stealing hay and feed, so I can keep the haylage at homeand carry it to the stable/field. I must admit it is lovely to not have to soak hay and better for my lungs too!
ETA:- Re the high fibre one, some horses apparently aren't so keen on it, (mine loves it!) and the Timothy is safe for laminitics too but supposedly more palatable so might be an option if your horse is fussy.

 

[0ldmare]

That's interesting, didn't know it was as low as that, how much is it? The thing is my livery includes hay & straw and I'm already buying shavings, it propbably would be silly if I started buying hay too.

I'll let you know what the net is like after a flask of water.

Its horribly expensive! Over £7 around here (I've forgotten the actual price per bale that I was told - shock sometimes does that to you ha ha). While I dont want to keep switching back and forth, I think its worth me getting some for long frozen periods...

 

[NOISYGIRL]

I'm feeding soaked hay as she is just recovering from Cushings related Laminitis.

The Blue HorseHage, which is what I'm getting, is fine for laminitics. Its only got around 3% sugar which is lower than hay (my hay was tested at 10%, hence why I'm soaking it

I've not seen it recommended by the Laminitis Trust, I've tried to ring them but the line is busy. I'd love to be able to give my horse that, I was told he could have haylage by my vet but that would have to be soaked as well so not much point and would take longer to soak I should imagine due to the reasons for soaking !

I'll let you know what they say if I can get hold of them

 

[touchstone]

The laminitis trust don't recommend feeding haylage I don't think, but then again a lot of laminitis trust approved feeds contain sugar coatings and more sugar than I'd like to feed anyway in a few cases. High fibre haylage is lower in sugar than hay, but is more acidic, which may affect some susceptible ponies I suppose, although I've never found an issue with it.
From the Horsehage website:- "When HorseHage ferments it uses up all the soluble sugars, leaving the end product containing less than 3% sugar, which is a lot lower than virtually any hay, so High Fibre and Timothy HorseHage are a more positive step to managing laminitis than hay."

 

[tallyho!]

The laminitis trust don't recommend feeding haylage I don't think, but then again a lot of laminitis trust approved feeds contain sugar coatings and more sugar than I'd like to feed anyway in a few cases. High fibre haylage is lower in sugar than hay, but is more acidic, which may affect some susceptible ponies I suppose, although I've never found an issue with it.
From the Horsehage website:- "When HorseHage ferments it uses up all the soluble sugars, leaving the end product containing less than 3% sugar, which is a lot lower than virtually any hay, so High Fibre and Timothy HorseHage are a more positive step to managing laminitis than hay."

Once our horse is 'diabetic' (EMD/Cushings/Lami) I think it's worth getting tested hay/haylage.

One field may yield more protien/ sugar than another half a mile down the road as what goes in grass is what it is grown in.

Near Bath, the soil is made up of clay in most parts including the 'basin' where the roman baths are. So I know that our grass is less acidic. Although, we've just had a 'hyper' so I am even soaking that!! NO sugar equals no inflammation!!

I used to live in WSM and the soil was very acidic so I avoided haylage as I knew the pH was lower than 5-6 when 'fermented' or at least I couldn't be sure, so I just avoided it.

I know this sounds odd but I used to taste grass before turning out in a particular paddock. Well, needs must and I have a lami prone, but my tastebuds tells me everything I needed to know without the cost of a test!!! I also "test the crest". If wobbly = ok. If hard = be careful.

I dare you to try it